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AIR1 changes to Praise & Worship Music
- Thread starter JRH
- Start date
I haven't tuned in to Air 1 today but in looking at their website it means contemporary praise and worship music, some of which they were doing anyway, definitely not traditional hymns. It sounds like they're closer to being where Air 1 and K-LOVE might as well merge into one format. I'll probably still like it but I think they should have stayed more youth oriented. At least they didn't sell out to some group that would have been anti-CCM or even worse a dollar a holler outfit.
https://www.air1.com/listen/recently-played
https://www.air1.com/listen/recently-played
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No, it's sort of like Soft AC, while K-Love is Hot AC. Maybe "The Breeze" meets the Lord.
It probably all boils down to who is sending in donations.
I'll file this one under: Unexpected Format Changes of 2019. With the continued growth of the Air1 network over the past few years, I had expected their previous setup was working well.
To Air-1, I wish you all the best with your new format. May many people tune in, listen, enjoy, be blessed and get saved through this new presentation.
Dan <><
P.S. Been doing some major updating to my own playlist. (No Surprises There!) Classic Southern Gospel, Bluegrass and (Believe It Or Not!) Praise and Worship, is what my audience wants more of. Working hard at adding these requests to the mix. Hope to have this first batch playing sometime next week. Over the next year, I plan on adding even more to the mix.
And yes...Dan is fixing to celebrate his third year, with Jesus Radio Selma, starting next month. Excited over it.
Dan <><
P.S. Been doing some major updating to my own playlist. (No Surprises There!) Classic Southern Gospel, Bluegrass and (Believe It Or Not!) Praise and Worship, is what my audience wants more of. Working hard at adding these requests to the mix. Hope to have this first batch playing sometime next week. Over the next year, I plan on adding even more to the mix.
And yes...Dan is fixing to celebrate his third year, with Jesus Radio Selma, starting next month. Excited over it.
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R
Rick Rose 2.0
Guest
I'm disappointed that the options for those that like youth and young adult targeted contemporary Christian music can not be a viable format. Granted Way FM and Air One started off as rock/hit radio and now both have evolved into the more popular and better listener supported ac and worship formats. I have a passion for Christian CHR and hope that some of the remaining stations can find the formula to be successful but with most youth and young adults using streaming that option on broadcast radio will probably stay rare.
The problem is that this isn't "Worship Now" nor is it worship at all. Worship has been, is, and always will be more than just a musical component. With that, unlike the new Air 1, worship music isn't limited to just the simple to learn by repetition, rhythm and chorus style songs that Air 1 now plays.
I think Brad has hit on a sad but simple truth. This is about donors. This is about promotional dollars. If EMF truly had ever cared about reaching those young persons abandoning today's church, this is not the direction they'd have taken.
"Worship Now" is not a format that will serve as outreach, evangelism, or persons saved. This clearly is about EMF choosing to now "preach to the 'praise team'" with Air 1.
Look no further than the release announcing the change. The program director is quoted saying "we heard what our listeners want." But this isn't iHeart or Entercom. Or at least it shouldn't be.
At least to me, the One EMF should be hearing from isn't flawed man. Count me concerned that they chose to reference man alone as the source of this change. Had they not, I might be less troubled by this change.
Because to me, it seems that EMF chose to double down on the Christian soccer mom's already being reached by K-Love. I find this change heartbreaking.
I think Brad has hit on a sad but simple truth. This is about donors. This is about promotional dollars. If EMF truly had ever cared about reaching those young persons abandoning today's church, this is not the direction they'd have taken.
"Worship Now" is not a format that will serve as outreach, evangelism, or persons saved. This clearly is about EMF choosing to now "preach to the 'praise team'" with Air 1.
Look no further than the release announcing the change. The program director is quoted saying "we heard what our listeners want." But this isn't iHeart or Entercom. Or at least it shouldn't be.
At least to me, the One EMF should be hearing from isn't flawed man. Count me concerned that they chose to reference man alone as the source of this change. Had they not, I might be less troubled by this change.
Because to me, it seems that EMF chose to double down on the Christian soccer mom's already being reached by K-Love. I find this change heartbreaking.
"Preaching to the praise team" is appropro. The lyrics that are projected on the screen at your local megachurch, which of course, you, as a Real True Christian (TM) soccer Mom, attend. It reminds me of a comedian I saw at a church....to get the jokes you had to be very well steeped in the subculture. This move reminds me of that. But yes, it's about demographics and donations.
Radio U out of Columbus, Ohio (and a few other markets) may be the only younger-skewing Christian format yet.
Radio U out of Columbus, Ohio (and a few other markets) may be the only younger-skewing Christian format yet.
I can certainly agree with Ma Gee's comments but the true evil is money. The true genius of money is we can't live without it. That not only includes us who need it to live, but commercial and non-commercial radio stations as well. Quite frankly, it is why church services are what they are. Churches have to put the message in the right way to fill the pews and to effectively reach those not in that church to 'try it'. In other words, it's sort of like radio: it has a format to make you want to remember the message and fill the pew next time and to be sampled by those who 'visit'. The format exists partly for money.
The typical situation goes like this: we're starting this evangelistic tool (youth oriented radio format) and we have tons of research and seasoned radio pros to guide it to reach those who are 'lost'. Give us some support for this. And people pull out their wallets. After a few months, the newness has worn off and the cash is not coming in. The bills still do and payroll must be met. Behind closed doors you hear things like "We knew the listeners would not be supporting this. The demo we target just doesn't support the ministry like the demos we hit with that 'preaching to the choir' station we have. The money's just not there". They end the meeting deciding they have to move the format to where the money is. They justify it as evangelical because anybody can listen to it on the radio, not just those in church.
That might sound terrible but think of this tomorrow morning as you drag yourself out of bed, navigate rush hour traffic to get to that job you must endure to make that 'money' that lets you survive in this world. Would you do this if there was no money in it?
Actually the only thing evil about money is we need it. In reality it is just a tool to be used for good or bad and even self-preservation.
The typical situation goes like this: we're starting this evangelistic tool (youth oriented radio format) and we have tons of research and seasoned radio pros to guide it to reach those who are 'lost'. Give us some support for this. And people pull out their wallets. After a few months, the newness has worn off and the cash is not coming in. The bills still do and payroll must be met. Behind closed doors you hear things like "We knew the listeners would not be supporting this. The demo we target just doesn't support the ministry like the demos we hit with that 'preaching to the choir' station we have. The money's just not there". They end the meeting deciding they have to move the format to where the money is. They justify it as evangelical because anybody can listen to it on the radio, not just those in church.
That might sound terrible but think of this tomorrow morning as you drag yourself out of bed, navigate rush hour traffic to get to that job you must endure to make that 'money' that lets you survive in this world. Would you do this if there was no money in it?
Actually the only thing evil about money is we need it. In reality it is just a tool to be used for good or bad and even self-preservation.
I thought it was interesting that the RadioInk story reported they were launching the new service with 10,000 songs in a row "commercial free."
https://radioink.com/2019/01/02/air1-changes-direction/
Of course Air1 is always commercial free. They are non-profit.
https://radioink.com/2019/01/02/air1-changes-direction/
Of course Air1 is always commercial free. They are non-profit.
I thought the 'commercial free' was interesting as well. Most listeners don't know the difference. Those of us with that knowledge know there will never be any commercials. In fact on Christian music station used to tout 'commercial free, all request lunch hours' on weekdays. I suspect the 10,000 in a row will get more sampling just as it does for commercial stations launching a new format.
Yep, and it may be an indication that it's just songs, with no hosts.
See, I've always seen K-Love, Air1, and the rest of the Christian Radio universe as a means to encourage the converted to evangelize the message of Christ to their personal networks.
Not so much a mission of "press seek and ye shall find the gospel through Air1". I just can't imagine people randomly landing on Christian Radio and deciding to stick around long enough to "get the message". But that's me - a millennial who is more likely to listen to Moody Bible Network than K-Love or Air1.
But when I did listen to the old Air1, I heard a format that sounded cohesive to me, and more appealing than the saccharine of K-Love. That's why the change was surprising to me.
The fastest-growing religious affiliation in the USA is "none". So I guess EMF figured out that trying to trick young people into listening to Christian music by euphemistically calling it "positive" and making it sound just like a Top 40 station except that the song lyrics sneak in a few references to Jesus wasn't working.
I don't think that the proper term is "trick".
It's well understood that there is a large community of people of faith who don't belong to any particular church or denomination. I believe that EMF thought that such folks might enjoy a station that, far from preaching, was even a bit removed from the more intense evangelism of Contemporary Christian.
You can no more trick a person of faith into listening to something they don't enjoy by calling it "positive" than you can trick me to listen to heavy metal and grunge by calling it "contemporary". "Positive" is just a typical radio positioning statement, and nobody who does not like the tone and flavor of the music is going to stick around just because of a word.
I ordered lunch in a restaurant which used to play nice country music. They were blasting this noise that did not appeal to me at all. Before I left with my food, I heard the words "Sirius XM The Message". I didn't hear any message and will not in that junk. For most of the previous month, I was hearing a message and in most cases I was hearing it in one or more musical styles that appeal to me. This doesn't seem to happen at any other time of year. Actually, it does. if I am lucky and turn on BBN, they might be playing music. But a lot of the time it's just talk.
Geese, if there only was some way to listen to the music you like at any time and place... 
Frankly, were it not for John and Kathy Shumate, we'd have lost RadioU years ago. I'm friends with a couple of RadioU's first employees. My wife and I helped with the station's first fund drive in 1996. Leaving there I predicted the Shumate's would bail on WUFM much as Jim and Ginger Sattler did on WJRX Chattanooga a few years earlier. I'll never hesitate in gladly admitting I was wrong. John and Kathy may have their quirks, but their commitment to RadioU is unwavering.
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